Skating Lessons
by TheCrownedLioness
Summary: It's Christmas time and the entire Sheffield family has gone skating at Rockefeller Centre. When it becomes clear that C.C. doesn't know how, it is left up to Niles to teach her. Written for EspoirDio's Calendar Challenge. I don't own any of the characters, names or places mentioned in this piece.


**Hi everybody, I hope you're all having a very Merry Christmas! This was the story I submitted to the Lauren Lane fansite for this year's Christmas Calendar. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!**

She didn't know why she'd accepted the stupid invitation to go ice skating in the first place.

It would have been a whole different story if it was just her and Maxwell.

But no, she had to put up with Nanny Fine – sorry, _the new Mrs Sheffield_ – and the collective horde that was the Sheffield children, too. She told Maxwell he might as well throw in an invite for Niles as well, and make it a party. Clearly her sarcasm had not had its intended effect, as she stood by the barrier to the skating rink at Rockefeller Centre, watching as the butler slipped his way over from their employer and the family, no doubt to ask her why she wasn't as of yet on the ice. He made his way through the gate, over towards where she was stood, having barely moved since she'd strapped the boots to her feet.

"The Sheffields were asking about you," he called to her. "God knows why, but they were wondering why you weren't out there with them."

"I'll be on in a minute, I'm just…" she glanced behind him at the awaiting rink, "…waiting for a few people to get off, first."

Niles smirked, nodding as he came to stand next to her, "Sensible. We wouldn't want the ice to crack."

"If it can take _your_ weight, Dust Buster, then it should have no trouble with mine," C.C. snapped.

He was about to reply in turn, when he was distracted by about ten or fifteen people piling through the gate and heading off to return their skates. He pointed in their direction.

"There. A whole _group_ of people just got off."

The producer nodded stiffly, straightened out her coat, and took a few steps towards the rink. Niles walked along with her, stopping after she did.

"What are you waiting for?"

"An irritating butler to move out of my way," she replied, and made to move around him. She then noticed that she was only a metre or two from the gate, and stopped in her tracks.

"Are you…?" the butler stood up straighter, eyebrow quirked. "You're _afraid_ , aren't you?"

"I am not!" she wrapped her coat further around herself, crossing her arms. "I just don't really see the point in stepping out onto a surface that humanity is clearly _not_ designed to walk on."

"Well, that's humanity; what about _your_ species?"

She ignored him, and wandered carefully over to a nearby bench, seating herself. Niles followed, but remained standing.

"Hasn't it ever occurred to you that people do this for fun?" he cocked his head to one side. Then he started, as though remembering something. "Oh, right; 'fun' is a feeling that people get when-"

C.C. fiddled with the laces on her skates. She couldn't seem to make them comfortable, "I _know_ what fun is. I just happen to think that _this_ is the complete opposite of it."

Eventually, she gave up, her eyes drifting back out onto the rink. More specifically, to the blades on the ice, and to the speed and ease at which they seemed to move. Even Nanny Fine, whom she could occasionally see darting between the crowd (it wasn't that hard to spot her; bright red coat and leopard print fur hat in a sea of bland colours). She sighed.

Niles must have noticed, because the next thing out of his mouth was a much gentler question, "You don't even know _how_ to skate, do you?"

He gave her such a steady, serious look that she couldn't help but crumble under the pressure of it, "I never learned, okay? You already know my father rarely spent time with me, and my mother thought sliding about all over the place _unladylike_."

She would have continued to explain (and Niles would probably have made some crack about her not being a lady anyway), but an interruption came in the form of a shout from across the ice. Maxwell Sheffield, wrapped up in a large coat, scarf and gloves, had skidded to a halt by the barrier and was calling to them.

"Come on, you two! You can't sit there gossiping all day!"

"We'll be right with you, sir." Niles watched as their employer skated unevenly away, now and again grabbing at the rail to steady himself. The butler then turned back to the producer, seating himself on the bench opposite. "Alright, Babcock, I'll level with you; if you promise to keep all insults, put downs, and condescending remarks to yourself, I will teach you how to skate."

C.C. laughed, "Oh, please! You think I'm going anywhere _near_ that ice with _you_?"

"Suit yourself, then," the butler shrugged and stood up, preparing to head back to the rink. "Either stay here and waste the money you paid to put those skates on, or go out there and embarrass yourself when you slip and fall because you don't know how to use them, when someone could have shown you."

As much as it killed her to admit it, he had a point; either way, she'd just end up embarrassing herself if she didn't risk taking up his offer. He was a few steps away and getting further when she spoke up.

"Niles, wait! Alright, fine. You can teach me how to skate."

A few moments later, Niles was crouched in front of C.C., checking the laces on her skates to make sure they were tight enough. He went over a few basic instructions as he did so.

"Okay, the first thing to remember is that if you _do_ happen to slip and fall, keep your fists clenched tight like this, see?" he squeezed his hand into a fist as a demonstration, and showed her.

"What, so that I smack my fists into the ice and break my hands?" she sneered. " _I don't think so_."

Rolling his eyes and ignoring her protests, Niles grabbed the producer's wrist and held her gloved hand up in front of her face.

"I was actually going to say it's because you don't want your fingers cut off by somebody's passing skates, but I forgot that _yours_ would probably just grow back."

He stood up, pulling C.C. to her feet as he did so.

She seized her hand from his grasp, folding her arms over, "Okay, let's get one thing straight, Hazel; if you're gonna teach me how to do this, and expect me to not crack a joke occasionally, you're gonna have to keep a lid on the insults, too."

Niles' mouth hardened into a line and he pointed towards the skating rink, "…Alright, fine. Whatever gets you through that gate."

Heading over and keeping one hand on the rail, he stepped out onto the ice, moving out of the way as he expected her to follow. She took a few wobbly steps towards the gate, hesitating.

"Oh for goodness' sake," he muttered quietly, extending one arm out towards her. "Here, take my hand!"

She was about to do so, and had reached out to take up his offer, but something suddenly occurred to her and she dropped her arm away.

"I swear to God, Niles, if you abandon me out on that ice, I'll never forgive you."

The butler rolled his eyes, but his arm remained in place.

"Oh, how shall I _ever_ recover? I give you my word, I won't leave you out there on your own – it's amusing when you're a danger to yourself, it becomes less so when a potential lawsuit dawns on the horizon."

The producer opened her mouth to speak, but he silenced her by holding up his hand, before continuing.

"But, I'll take my promise back if you so much as even _think_ about making a crack about me not being able to _afford_ a lawsuit," he lowered his hand again, palm facing upwards, gloved fingers stretching out for hers. "Do we have a deal?"

She considered this for a moment, before placing her hand in his, "…Alright, deal."

He tightened his grip on her, and began to steadily pull her towards the edge of the ice. The producer looked down at it uneasily, biting her lip. It looked so…slick. And she'd seen plenty of people crash onto surfaces like that before. Including her, because of the man she was now allowing to help her onto the ice.

Nobody ever would have guessed, though. Not from the gentle way he pulled her across the uneven edge of the ice.

"Now, the worst part is getting on, because everybody's skates have been there and the ice is all chewed up. It gets smoother once you move away."

He wrapped an arm around her waist and she froze, staring him down. He reassured her this was only a precautionary measure so she didn't slip, and pulled her away from the gate. Muttering instructions, they began to move. Mostly Niles, as he ushered C.C. forwards across the ice. The producer herself was staring straight ahead, and her body had turned rigid in fear of slipping.

They were several metres from the gate before Niles changed the conversation from instructing.

"Why did you even agree to come, if you knew you couldn't skate?"

"I don't know," she shrugged awkwardly, barely allowing herself to move in case she fell. _An embittered sense of pride and lingering attachment_. She realised now, it was a stupid plan which never would've worked. Even if the entire family _hadn't_ been there with them, what could she have _possibly_ done? Maxwell wouldn't have offered to teach her, he'd expect her to already know how. She'd still have been back there, by the gate. Alone.

Still, things could definitely be worse. She was actually _on_ the ice now, and Niles' hands were certainly strong enough to keep her steady. She actually began to relax a little, and started to look around the rink some more. There were a lot of couples on the rink that day, and seeing them for once didn't actually make her feel that out of place; the arm around her waist wasn't uncomfortable at all. On the contrary, it was actually quite comforting.

The Sheffields were nowhere in sight, probably off the ice for refreshments, but for some reason that didn't really matter.

"Niles…why did you offer to teach me?"

He merely shrugged in return, "It's Christmas. I thought I might do something nice."

The words 'for a change' passed silently between them.

They continued to practice, going around the rink several times, until C.C. felt she could move more on her own, her only lifeline being Niles' hand, which she gripped tightly. For safety, of course. It _was_ actually starting to be rather fun, as it so happened. At some point, it had begun snowing, and there were fewer people out on the ice so there was more room to move. Niles had started to show off a little, gaining speed to pull C.C. along, and a laugh escaped her lips.

They were about half way around the rink from where they had started, when suddenly Niles' skate must have clipped a chipped part of the ice. He slipped, and with a yelp, went crashing down onto the ice, landing on his back. Unfortunately, he also unwittingly pulled C.C. down on top of him, and the producer landed between his legs, one of his arms wrapped awkwardly around her. She didn't need three guesses to work out exactly where his palm had managed to land, either.

They stayed there for far longer than was really necessary. Neither could stop staring. Nor could they prevent the blush creeping across their faces. Somewhere in the distance, somebody wolf whistled. A part of her brain would later register how much it sounded like Nanny Fine, but at that moment, it was just distant noise.

"Uh…Niles?"

He blinked in return, swallowing, "Yes, Miss Babcock?"

She shifted uncomfortably, "You might wanna…move your hand."

"Oh! Right, of course…" he slipped his arm away, back down by his side. C.C. shook her head.

"No, Niles – watch out!"

She made a leap for his arm, which had been spread out across the ice. She managed to pull it in just as a skater's blades swept past his fingers, the disgruntled wearer yelling "Get a room!" as they went by. The producer's attempt to save his arm had pushed her further against him, only now they were face to face. Under half a foot apart, in fact. _A gap easily closed_.

C.C. broke the tension first, "What was that about keeping your fists balled, Butler Boy?"

"What was that about not insulting each other whilst out on the ice?" he teased in return.

She pulled away, back onto the rink, "I think the rules were suspended when we slipped just then, and your hand fell on my ass."

Silence fell between them and he stared at her. She noted that the corners of his mouth were twitching, as though he planned on saying something which hadn't yet quite formed in his mind. The producer took full, triumphant advantage of his silence.

"What, you thought I didn't notice?" She smirked, one eyebrow raised.

"I had to rein it in a little, otherwise it would've spread out over the ice and hurt someone," the butler eventually spat out, looking around at their predicament. "Now, help me up; we're in enough of a compromising position as it is, and people are starting to stare."

Their combined strength was enough to pull them both to their feet, but not enough for it to remain that way; they both slid forward, automatically wrapping their arms around each other for support. It took a moment for them to realise the position _this_ put them in – faces bare centimetres apart this time, his arms wrapped around her waist, hers about his neck – and they sprang apart when it dawned on them. They only continued to clutch at each other's forearms in order to keep themselves upright.

At least, that's what they were telling themselves. And would have said, had anybody asked.

A moment passed in silence, and C.C. swallowed, "I think…that's enough skating lessons. For one day."

Niles nodded stiffly, releasing his grip on her elbows, "I'm…inclined to agree."

C.C. attempted a smile, but it vanished in a haze of awkward facial expressions. She was trying to look anywhere but at the butler's eyes. She'd never really noticed before just how bright they were. _Icy blue. But still warm._

Yes. Warmth. That was something else to focus on! She dropped her gaze to their feet in order to regather her thoughts, before looking up and trying again.

"Um…I think I saw a stand selling hot chocolate, somewhere out on the square," she used one hand to rub the back of her neck. "My treat – whaddya say?"

"That sounds really…nice. I…thank you, Miss Babcock."

C.C. adjusted her coat, conveniently averting her gaze from his, "Yeah, well, don't get used to it; consider it your Christmas present this year."

"Well, you got a "thank you" and the word "nice" out of me, so consider that _your_ present," he retorted.

She scoffed, rolling her eyes, "That's not a present, that's a _miracle_."

Despite himself, and the teasing remark that C.C. had just made, the butler began to smile. He huffed out a laugh through his nose, before offering her an arm.

"Hopefully not the only one this year, Babs."

A gentleman offering her his arm, the thought of hot chocolate, and the snowflakes dancing in the air. That's what she'd tried to imagine the day being like when Maxwell had invited her along, but something hadn't been quite sitting right whenever she did. It made more sense now; it hadn't been the right gentleman in her head.

Not hesitating at all and smirking a little, she took Niles' arm, and the two made their way carefully back to the gate.


End file.
